The Eco Vampires
by ChocolateZombie
Summary: After having just defeated Cyber Errol, Jak and the gang are thrown into action again after receiving an urgent call from a town called Valor City about a dangerous creature that the team, except for Samos, haven't heard of before.


**I'm re-uploading my re-do of my old 'demon hunters' story for reasons explained at the bottom. For now, though, enjoy the first chapter.**

The Eco Vampires

Chapter 1: Daemion

"Whoa," Daxter commented.

He and Jak had just followed Vegar down through another section of the catacomb system, and had arrived at the center of the planet. Precursor machinery lined the entire core, as up ahead, a large precursor idol dominated the horizon. The transport vehicle the two were currently riding in slowed to a stop at the platform where the idol, the planet's defense system, rested, the oracle's voice filling the air as the two came to a stop.

"Greetings great warrior. Before it is too late, you must power up the planet's defense system.

Jak nodded and placed the eco sphere into the slot. The sphere was soon lifted, being charged by Dark and Light eco.

"The eco sphere has begun its energy conversion," the oracle announced. "It will take some time for the weapon to fully charge."

A familiar figure lay back in the distance as the precursor entity Jak had encountered throughout his adventure appeared once again before him.

"You have proven your worth, warrior," it said. "We grant you the gift of evolution; the honor of becoming one of us."

A white light soon shown in front of Jak, who was ready to receive his blessing; however, he suddenly heard a gun being raised and loaded, which meant only one thing; Vegar was there.

"Step aside," the count ordered from behind. "I will be the one who evolves into a precursor! The right is MINE!"

"Be careful what you wish for," the oracle said, casting the beam of light onto Vegar. Jak now felt disgusted as after a few seconds, the light had vanished, and Vegar had gotten a blessing he did not deserve.

"Ah...it is done," He said. "Don't worry, Jak; it is for the greater good that I assume this role."

"Even now, it may be too late," The entity chimed in once again. "If Errol awakens the dark ship's cargo, all will be lost."

"Listen, glow boy," Daxter started, apparently fed up with being told what to do. "We've been doing all your dirty work, while you slept in the stars! So STUFF IT!"

"Inefficient! I told you we needed a back up hero," the entity said, confusing the entire group. "We should've gone with plan B!"

The entity soon appeared to be fighting with itself, disappearing. A door suddenly began to open on the idol, light blinding everyone.

"We are unhappy with your performance," the oracle said. "If you were a true hero, you would've stopped Errol by now..."

The oracle stopped when the doors had fully opened, as everyone finally got a look inside; the oracle turned out to be three precursors...who weren't really robots, they were...otsels.

The group was speechless, Vegar's staff falling from his limp hand.

"Oh my god," Jak said finally.

"Yes, well, uh, now we are even more angry," one continued to say into a microphone. "And we order you to avert your eyes, or we will...um...(normal voice) oh, bother."

"They look like...me," Daxter asked.

"Not what you...expected," the first precursor said.

"Yeah, we like get that a lot," a second to the right of the first added.

"Don't look so upset; if you knew we precursors were a bunch of little fuzzy rats, would you worship us? Could we run the universe," the first said.

"Not possible, buddy," the second added.

"So we...fluff up the myth, a bit," the first continued.

"Then we get the respect we deserve," a third to the left of the first wearing a helmet added in.

"You IDIOTS," Veger yelled, obviously not getting it yet. "Get down from there and stop defiling that glorious machine!" He was then restrained by the first precursor.

"Do not let our size fool you; we are the most powerful beings in the universe."

"We are," the third responded, clapping. The other two quieted him down.

"Why does Daxter look like..." Jak asked.

"Ah yes, our eco contains the source of our essence, our 'code', so to speak. When Daxter touched the dark eco, he was actually blessed, when, he thought he was cursed."

"Whahoo, I'm a precursor," Daxter yelled. "I'm a precursor, I'm a precursor...hey, wait a minute; they have pants!"

The three precursors just looked down.

"These creatures are the great precursors," Veger asked, still clueless. "And I wanted to evolve into the..."

Vegar that had the truth hit him like a ton of bricks.

"NO! AAAAAHHhhhh..." he screamed as he turned into a "precursor".

"A little, 'drafty', isn't it," Daxter commented.

"The only way to ensure that Errol will not awaken the dark ship's cargo is to go there yourself and stop him," the first precursor said. "We will send you there from here."

"But the weapon," Jak began as a portal appeared by them, but was cut off.

"Chill out, buddy, you should have mondo minutes to go there and get back here pronto. Way before..." The second precursor said.

"Hopefully before..." the first added.

"BABOOM! Oh, yeah," the third finished.

"Let's move," Jak said, quickly turning to the portal, jumping in it.

"You idiots," the first said. "I told you we needed a plan B."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Welcome to the Iron Barrel," a server at the front of a crowded restaurant said to two entering men. "Can I help you two?"

"Just a table near the bar, please," one of the men said.

"Right this way, boys," she instructed, the two men following. She sat them in a small booth area near the bar area, which was quite a busy spot.

"Anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Haven draft," the first man said.

"Same here," the other one ordered.

"I'll have those out here right away," the server said, leaving.

"Whoo, she's a good one," the second man commented suddenly.

"And you're already engaged," the first one responded.

"Not for me, ya idiot, for you," the second man said.

"I've told you already, Jerry, I have someone," Daemion responded.

"Then how come I've never met her," Jerry asked.

"She's...really shy; hell, it took me a long time to get her to talk about herself comfortably."

"Here you two go," the waitress said once she'd returned, passing out the drinks to the two. "Is this going to be all?"

"Yep, we're set," Daemion responded.

"OK, I'll go get the bill for you two. Enjoy the drinks," she finished and walked away.

"You could've at least said somethin' nice," Jerry commented once the waitress was out of range.

"She had a ring; a huge one, too. Had to be married if it was that big," Daemion continued.

"Sometimes I just wonder about you, Dae," Jerry said. "But, I get it. When I first met Jannie, I had the same problem; she didn't really wanna be introduced at first, but she warmed up with time. Just let me know when you need something; I'm your best bud, Dae."

"I know you are," Daemion said back.

"Here you go, you two," the waitress said as she approached with the bill.

"I'll take this one," Daemion said, pulling out a leather sack full of orbs.

"Whoa," Jerry said in amazement as Daemion pulled out the tab, plus a few extra for a tip.

"Thank you," the waitress muttered silently. "You are all set," finishing, walking off.

"How do you get that much money? It can't be your job," Jerry commented.

"I do some stuff on the side," Daemion said, looking at his watch. "Crap, I gotta go, Jerry; I have to meet a friend."

"Can I come? You never take me to these...'meetings'," Jerry asked.

"Sorry, it's a personal thing. Call me tomorrow morning; we'll go do something," Daemion responded, getting up and walking out, just as another guy walked over to the table.

"Was that Dae," he asked.

"Yeah. He had to run off to one of his 'meetings' again," Jerry responded.

"I'm kinda worried about him. He's been running off late like this for a while now," the other guy said.

"I know, and with all the late-night murders happening lately, I'm kinda concerned."

"Do you think it's..."

"Who?"

"You know...?"

"Oh...yeah, I wouldn't doubt it. That...'thing' has been responsible for a lot it this town; I wouldn't be surprised."

"Dae's strong, though."

"Maybe not strong enough; you've heard what it can do," Jerry said.

"Yeah...well, let's just...go home, go to bed, and hope for a good day tomorrow," the other guy said.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Normally, the streets of Valor City are bustling about on a Friday night; but lately, they've been deserted. The reason: a large spike in late-night murders in the city has occurred within the last few months, prompting the Mayor of the town to issue an early-evening curfew for all citizens where no one is allowed to be on the city streets past 9pm unless authorized by the city.

Even though he realized this, Daemion calmly walked through the streets, stopping at the ATM of the city bank for a few moments before continuing on. He soon ducked into an alley that was tucked away in a less-populated section of the town, walking back to where it dead-ended around a corner.

"Hello," he called, bag of orbs in hand.

"You're a tad late," a female voice answered back.

"I...lost track of time. Hanging out with friends, that stuff."

"Did you at least do what I asked," the voice responded as a female figure walked out from a darkened area of the alley. The night sky, along with the shadows of the walls, hid most of her features, but what was visible was that she was dressed in a long black cloak with a hood over her face.

"Yes, it's all here; all 5000, just like you asked," Daemion responded, handing the woman the bag of orbs. The woman took the bag and shook it slightly, glancing at Daemion before tucking the bag away in her cloak and beginning to walk away.

"A 'thank you' would be appreciated," Daemion called. The woman stopped, saying: "My cabin in the forest in one hour. You'll get your 'thank you' there," before walking off again and turning the corner. Daemion followed out of the alley, turning the corner to see the woman had disappeared. He smirked slightly, heading back onto the streets and back to his house.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jak had soon fought his way into the gut of the ship, he and Daxter rushing to find Errol and stop him before the planetary defense system blew the ship in two...million pieces.

"If these nasty things ever wake up, the planet's finished," Daxter commented, eying all the dark planet builders around them.

"All of these Dark Makers at my command," Errol, who was just up ahead, narrated. "Just think of what I can do with..."

"ERROL!" Jak yelled, catching the robot's attention. "You're through! Even if we both die!"

"WHAT! How did you..." Errol began, but was cut short as Jak had ran at Errol and tackled him hard enough to send the two off the ledge. Errol, however, used his hover jets to fly back up to the platform as Jak plummeted down.

"Jak? JAK! JAAAAAAAK!" Daxter yelled as the planetary defense system kicked in, blasting a large hole in the ship. Errol grabbed a dark planet builder and quickly escaped, Just as Jak surprisingly flew back up in light form.

"Come on, Dax, let's get out of here. There's a portal over that bridge. I hope we can make it."

"Less talking, more hauling," Daxter yelled, as Jak took off with Daxter in hand. The two dodged debris after debris, eventually reaching the portal, just as the ship exploded, the two jumping through seconds before.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Valor city's forest was once a place for its citizens to get away from their hectic lives. Parents would come with their children and let them frolic in the trees and the small playground, artists would come for creative inspiration, and some would just come for a place to relax and take that long-needed afternoon nap.

Things have changed dramatically since those days, and within the past three years, the forest has gone from tranquil getaway to forbidden territory. A dangerous creature lives within its trees, a creature that has been responsible for unmatched chaos within Valor's walls. The mayor has, in addition to the curfew ordinance, ordered all citizens to stay away from the forest; the city has even contemplated building a large wall bordering the forest so that the creature can not get in.

However, there is one citizen that has been rumored to live within the forest. Many people dispel such a rumor, saying that even if that citizen had lived there, the creature would have killed them by now. Those that believe the rumors to be true question that person's sanity, and some even say that the person created the monster in the first place; or, as very few people speculate, that person IS the monster.

"_If they only knew the whole story," _The woman from before thought while thinking of this. Though these rumors weighed heavily on her mind and that she knew only one of them was true, she'd learned that it was best for her to ignore them.

The transportation spell she had used after meeting with Daemion had taken her deep within the forest, so far out of the way that she was mere miles from a chain of tough, rugged mountains that separated Valor city and its surrounding forest from the outside world. She walked a few feet before coming to a small, wooden cottage neatly tucked between some trees. The woman let out a slightly dark chuckle as she proceeded to fish for her key.

"_How funny, that the mountains I live right near is the same place people are told to run for if they become trapped_," She mused. "_And that the path to do so is mere feet from my home, as well."_

The woman had found her key by this time, ready to go unlock the door. Before she did so, she glanced at the sky, noticing that the strange purple glow of what people called the 'day star' had suddenly disappeared. The woman sighed with relief before returning to her door.

"_Well, looks like death is no longer a concern of mine,_" she thought, turning the key and unlocking the front door, heading inside.

"How was your little 'meeting'," someone asked her as she closed the door. The woman turned to see a girl younger than her dressed in a maid's outfit and tending to a large pot of boiling water on top of a small range.

"Good," the woman replied, beginning to shed her attire, starting with her gloves. "He's coming over in an hour for his 'reward', so make sure to make an extra plate. Then, well, you know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the younger girl replied back, heading over to a cabinet and pulling out a large sack of rice. As the girl returned to the pot, the woman removed her cloak, revealing the rest of her features: a tall, average build with curly, shoulder-length black hair, golden-brown eyes, pale skin, and a small number of piercings among her nose and ears. Her clothing beneath the cloak was a simple shirt and a pair of dark jeans, along with the black boots she took off last.

"Why do you even wear that, anyway," the woman asked.

"Cause it's cute, and it fits when I'm doing chores," the girl replied. "Why, is it wrong if I do?"

"Never said it was," the woman responded. "Anyway, I'm heading back to get comfortable; if Daemion gets here before I'm out, just give him a seat at the table."

"Gotcha," the girl replied as the woman headed towards the back room.

"_Daemion's lucky...he knows who I am, knows what I'm capable of, and yet he's risking his life to be with me. It's a good thing he's never actually visibly seen any of it...and I'm praying to the precursors he never does. I don't want him to get hurt...to meet the same fate so many other innocent people have met because of who I am..."_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The wasteland sands churned and whipped around in the heavy nighttime winds as a portal soon opened up beside the gates of Spargus, Jak and Daxter emerging after having narrowly escaped the destruction of the Dark Maker's mothership.

"We did it! Whohoo," Daxter exclaimed happily. Suddenly, a flash of sight lit up the sky and some large object descended from the sky

"Not yet," Jak responded, as he realized that Errol had escaped inside of a dark planet builder that had just now landed deep in the desert.

"You will ALL die at my hand," Errol proclaimed through the loudspeaker, his robot of destruction slowly stirring to life.

"This guy just won't quit," Daxter exclaimed.

"He's headed for the city! We have to defended it...for Damas."

"Yeah, but how," Daxter asked.

"Jak, Daxter, over here," someone yelled. It was none other than Sig and Ashelin, waiting nearby with the Sand Shark.

"Figured you might be needing this," Ashelin commented.

"Thanks. Come on, Dax, let's finish this."

"The last charge of the dark and light brigade; let's do it, partner!"

"To the end," Jak said, pausing for a brief moment to remember his father.

Damas dying right in front of Jak without knowing that he was his own son tore the warrior apart; however, he couldn't focus on that, for there was a job at hand still; defeating Errol by any means necessary. Jak shook the thought away as he jumped into the Sand Shark, speeding off into the moonlit desert.

**The reason for the redo is that the 'woman's' personality was inconsistent, so I fixed that issue. I also don't really know if the last bit here feels right to end it, and you can judge when I upload the next chapter, where Jak's battle with Errol continues, we learn more about this woman and her connection with Daemion, and find out more about this 'monster' that's been terrorizing Valor City.**


End file.
